Pouring-ladle equalizer



{ W. C RENGERT POURING LAISLE EQUA'LIZER Filed April 27. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR W/LL/AM C. IEE/YGE/PT ATTORNEY r, all

Patented Dec 8, 1925.

near s re 1,564,895 r: Aren 'QfiFfEI 'CE};

WILLIAM C. RENGERT, OF SOUTH BEND, III-DIANA, ASSIGNQR T0 STUDEBAKER COREORATION, 0F 'SGUTH ZBEHYD, INDIANA, A'CORPOEATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

"POURING-LADLE 'EQTl'ALl'Z'ER.

Application filed April'rw, 1925, Serial No. 26,126.

I '0 all IF/L077? it may concern.

Be it known thatl, \VILLIAM C. RENGERT, a citizen of the United States of America,

and resident of South. Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Pouring-Ladle vEqualizers, of whiclrthe following is ,a. specification.

This invention relates-to foundry apparatus and the like and particularly.tozapparatus usedvin connection with pouring ladles of a size too largelto be handled "by hand. Suchv ladies must of necessity be handled by .a crane or other mechanical carrier of such description, and as the ladle is moved from ,mold tomold, in the oper .ationof pouring thesarne, it .has been necessary for thegopeitator. of the crane, in the ,past, .to. raise the 'ladle by drawing up the crane hook in order to compensate for the relative lowering of the lipof the ladle in respect to the molds which occurs due to theincreased amount that the ladle must be tipped to pour asthe metal is poured from it into the .molds. Inasmuch as the cranes used for this-purpose are generally of the overhead ,travelingltype in which the operator is usually ;at a considerable distance from the ladle, andisconsequently unable to accurately judge the amount which the crane hook mustvbe raised to bring thelip. of'thedadle into the required space but adjacent relation to the ,spruehole in the successive molds, vconsiderable inconvenience and loss of timehas been ex perienced, and =for.this reason ithas sometimes been deemed advisable to resort .to the smaller hand-carried ladies in preference thereto, with the resulting slowness of operation and increased labor charges.

Havingthe above in ,mind, it isthe principal object of the present invention to provide means for automatically lifting the ladle as the metal isbeingpoured therey from an amount necessary to keep the pouring lip of the ladle at a constant distance from the upper surface of. the mold, or series of molds of the same height, thus eliminating any necessity for controlling the height of the ladle in respect to the mold on the part of the crane operator.

Another object is to provide a device interposed between the crane hook and the P ladle for automatically governing the position of the ladle in respect to the crane line 77 ofFigure 6.

book inaccordance with the amount of metal carried by, the ladle. I A further object isto provide, in combination ,with a pouring ladle and a crane book, a springrcontrolled equalizing device the connection between the two, whereby for each increment of drop in the height :of'the metal in the ladle, the ladle will be raiseda proportionate increment, whereby the. d stance between the pouring level of the lip of the ladle will be at a substantially constant distance from the crane hook throughout the operation of pouring.

vThe abovebeingamong the objects ofthe present invention, the same consists of certain features of construction, combination of .parts and method of application to be' hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying'drawings, and then claimed, having the aboveand other objects in view.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a suitable embodiment of the present invention, and in which like numerals ,refer tolike parts throughout the several dijtierent views.

Figure 1 llustrates, more or less diagrammatically, the interior of a foundry-,show- V ing:numerous molds positioned on the floor thereofready to befilled with metal from a ladle carried. by an overhead traveling crane, the application-of an equalizer .be-

tween the crane hook and ladle, as covered by the presentinvention,bemgshown. 7

Figures 2, 3 and iareanore orless (113k grammatic views of the crane hook, equallZel, ladleand mold, showing the relatlve relation .thattheseparts assume in respect to each other in accordance with the amount de rees around the axis thereof from the position shown in Figure 0. I

Figure 7 1s a sectional view taken onthe Figure 8 is a partially broken sectional view taken-on-the line 8-8 of Figure 5. s

Figure 9 is a sectional view. taken on the J line 99 of Figure 7.

In Figure 1 is indicatedza portion of a foundry on the floor of which" are arranged f numerous molds 15 which are ready to be poured or filled with metal. As is usually the case these molds are placed in double rows with an aisle between each double row so that it is possible to pass along each and every mold to pour the same, the sprue hole into which the metal is to be poured being positioned on the aisle side of the mold it possible. As is usual in large production foundries, there are a large number of molds of the same height, and all of the molds of the same height are placed in a separate group for ease of pouring as will hereinafter be apparent. Time and labor can usually be saved in the pouring of such molds if a relatively large ladle is used because there is less tendency for the metal to chill in a given length of time than with a small ladle and fewer laborers are required in the operation of pouring a given number of molds. In order to handle these large ladies it is necessary to provide some type of mechanical carrying means, and although such means may be of the single overhead track type, in which case a row of molds is placed along each side of the track, it is usually more expedient to use an overhead traveling type of crane, although any suitable means may be employed.

In Figure 1, for the purpose of illustration, is shown an overhead traveling crane which comprises a bridge 16, usually extending clear across the width of the foun dry floor and supported above the same on two longitudinally extending parallel tracks 17 which in turn are supported from the floor by vertical columns 18. The bridge 16 is provided with wheels or trucks on either end which may be driven by a suitable electric motor (not shown) controlled by an operator in a cab 19 depending from one end of the bridge 16, so that the bridge may be run from end to end of the tracks 17 over the length of the floor. The bridge 16 is provided with tracks on its upper surface over its full length which carry a trolley 20, driven by an electric motor 21 and controlled from the cab 19, the trolley 20 being thereby capable of traveling from end to end of the bridge 16.

The trolley is provided withan electrically controlled winding drum or hoist around 1 which a cable 22 is wound and which extends down through the sheave 23, which carries the crane hook 24, and back to the trolley in a conventional manner, so that the hook may be raised or lowered thereby. From the above it will be evident that by moving the bridge up or down the length of the foundry and by moving the trolley across the length of the bridge the crane hook may be readily moved to any point in the crane way.

Heretofore it has been the practice to suspend the ladle, designated as 25 in the drawings, from the hook 24 by an inflexible connection such as a chain, link or the like, which extends between the hook 2d and the bail of the ladle which is pivoted thereto at 2 ladle into close proximity with one of the molds 15 and in such position that when the ladle 25 is tipped about its pivot point 27 its pouring lip 28 will be in such a position that the molten metal in the ladle will be directed into the sprue hole 29 of the mold. In pouring such molds it is essential that the lip 28 be within a certain close proximity to the upper surface of the mold so that the metal flowing out of the ladle will not drop such a distance to the mold that its impact against the same will materially loosen any of the particles of sand from which the molds are made and wash'such particles into the part being cast. Thus, in pouring a row of molds, the ladle 25 is brought into adjacent relationship with the end mold, the ladle is tipped by a handle such as 80 (Figure 1) lhe crane is operated to bring the or other suitable means, to a point where the metal in the ladle is about to flow from the lip thereof, the crane operator operates the lifting mechanism of the crane to bring the lip into proper close relationship with the upper surface of the mold and the ladle is then further tipped to cause the metal therein to run into the mold. When the mold is filled the ladle is tipped back sufficiently to prevent pouring of the metal from the ladle and the crane operator causes the trolley 20 to move along the bridge 16 until the ladle 25 is in position to pour the next mold, and the operation of pouring is repeated.

It will be evident that as the ladle 25 travels from mold to mold in pouring the same. the level of the metal in the ladle will be continuously lowered, and as the level of the metal is lowered it will be necessary to tip the ladle more each time to allow the metal to run out of it, and that the more the ladle is tipped the closer the lip 28 will approach the upper surface of the mold. Inasmuch as it is desirable to keep the lip 28 in close proximity to the upper surface of the mold 15 as is practically possible in the operation of pouring, it will be evident that unless the ladle is raised at certain intervals, depending upon the size of the ladle and the amount of metal taken by each mold the lip 28, through the tipping ofthe ladle 25, will be dropped to such an extent that it will strike the upper surface of the mold to the damage of the latter. For this reason it is necessary for the crane operator to control the mechanism to lift the ladle at certain intervals. Due to the fact that the crane operator is usually at some distance from the ladle, it is difficult for him to judge the exact amount which the ladle must be raised in each case to keep the lip 28 in the required position and usually he must depend upon cordance with ing the i crane hook signals-from others placedin such a position as to he capable of more readily {lets-mining this fact. The op ration of the crane in acdirections from the floor is not, at the best conducive to the rapidity which is desirable in this work to possible freezing of the metal inthe ladle, and it is thenecessityot such raising-oi the ladle at'frequent intervals by-the operator of the crane that the nesent invention contemplates eliminating.

This is accomplished by'inserting in the suspension connection between the crane hook 2st and the bail of the ladle a device 81 which I prefer to call an equalizer. This device is such that for a given drop of the level of the metal in the ladle'25,

the connection between the ladle '25 and crane hook is autcmatically shortened a proportionate amount, so-that as-the metal is gradually poured out ofthe ladle 25-the latter is gradually and automatically raised adjacent the upper end thereof is a circular blocker slide 33 Which'loosely engages the interior of the-shell and'isshdable longitudinally therein. Depending fromthe 'shde w 1 C 1):) dllf. set

235 which extends down=throughand projects-out past the lower fuce of the-cap 32 in which openings are lormed ito slidably receive it. Twoc -glindrical tubes 3'6 resting (lea-inst 'theupper iaceot the cap 32 within the shell 31 c's'tend upwardly therefrom and project through the slide'ilfrl in which they are slidably received, and receive against their upper-ends the int-urned lower ends the builoiwhandle '37. Rods 38,lhreaded on each endto rcceive'nuts 39, extend up through eachofthe tubes 36 andthrough the inturned ends of the bail 37 above which they receive the nuts 39,2.nd also extend beneath the cap 32 to receive the nuts v39 on the loweriends of the rods. The tubes tthereby act as spacers between the-bail 37 and the cap 32 which arecsecured together in spaced relationship by the rods 38 and nuts 39. The slide "33 and bail 35 are normally held up in the position shown by means of two heavy coil springs which avoid ired thereto at its free ends bythe nuts is al shapedmember orbail surround the tubes 36 and extend between the cap andslide Th'ese coil springs tihby reason ofthe force necessary to coin press them a given amount, control the longitudinal position of theslide 33 in respect to the shell 51 in accordance with the force acting to separate the hails 35 and 37,

In practice, :as shown in Figures 1 to 4 .iuclusivathe bail 3'? is slipped over the crane hook and a link l1 provided with hooked ends connects the bail 35 with the foail 26 of the ladle 25. When the ladle is full of metal, it will be evident that the ,weightthereof, which is carried by the crane hook -24 through:thefmedium or the equalizer 31, will cause a certain compression ofrthe'spri-ngs lO, thus causing the bail to extend or project out from the lower liace of the cap 32 an amount (designated as a in Fi ures 2 3 and 4 -ro ortionate a? to the weight ofthe metal in the ladle 25. the weight of the metal in the -ladle diminishes during the pouring operation, the springs lO will expand an amount proporl-ionate tjo the diminution of such weight'and the distance a will be decreased, thereby diminishing the distance ;;(designated as b) between the ladle 25 and crane hook :24, and'thereby raising-the ladle 25. :The springs 40 "have sucha defiectioniunder a given load, or as it-is commonly'said, have such a weight, -that-the lIlCIGtlSelII the length of-thevspring due to the decrease in the weight of the metal in {the ladle, is

"substantiallyequal to the decrease in the level of the metal in the ladle, so that the actual level-of the metal remains in thesame relative position in respect to the top of the mold (designated as distance c) whether the ladle be full or nearly empty. To illustrate, suppose the ladle is ofisuchia diam-- eter ethat the weight of a layer ,of metal in it one'inch thick is one hundred pounds.

To equalize{thisjsprings 40 ,are provided which have .a deflection: rate of fifty pounds to the inch orua combined totalof 100 pounds to the inch for the two. Insuch a'case if an unclrthackness .o'f imetallis poured from the ladle, decreasing the level-of the metal one inch,'-the:springs will expand ,an inch and =1eave the relative POSllllOll of the level of-the metal in respect to the :mold unchanged. This relative movement'ot the springs to the level of themetal-takes place for each increment of imetal poured from F ,the ladle'with-the resultqthatthe distance 0 remains substantially constant: through out the pouring operation without ;a i change in the distance (designated vas --d) ofthe c 'ane hook 2 l-iiro1n the floor. course, due to the change ofarea of the surface ofthe metal in'the'ladle;25 as the ladle is tipped, it is impossible to compensate for the change of level of the metal exactly, yet it has been .found that the variation in ,VVhile, of

the distance is so slight as to be negi no further movement of the crane hook in such a direction is necessary. The crane operator is, by the use of such a device, freed of any necessity for controlling the height of the ladle 25 and the operation of pouring the molds 15 may progress without delay in this direction.

It will also be evident that inasmuch as the equalizer has a given rate of deflection, it must be used in conjunction with such a sized ladle and for such'metal as will correspond thereto. If, for instance, a larger diametered ladle is used, an equalizer having a smaller rate of deflection corresponding thereto must be used for the same metal, and if for instance, aluminum is to be poured instead of cast iron, an equalizer having a greater" rate of deflection must be used for a given size of ladle. Inasmuch as the level of the metal in the ladle 25 corresponds at all times to the height of the lip 28 of the ladle 2-5 when in pouring position above the upper face of the molds 15, the height of the lip 28 above the molds 15 when once set, automaticallyremains substantially constant.

It will be apparent that the construction of the equalizer may be varied to suit different needs or fancies as the case may be, and that any device which compensates for the drop of the level of the metal in the ladle by raising the latter may be substituted in place ofthe onev shown and de scribed with like results, and I do not limit myself to the specific construction shown and described but claim as my invention all that is as broadly novel as in commensuratewith the appended claims.

What I claim is Y 1. The combination with a crane and a 1 ladle suspended therefrom, of means in the connection between said crane and said ladle whereby said ladle is automatically raised when the level of the contents of said ladle is lowered.

2. The combination with a crane and a liquid carrying ladle suspended therefrom, of means in the connection between said crane and said ladle whereby when the level suspended from a crane hook by an automatically contractable connection, said connection being such that any drop of the level of said liquid in said ladle is automatically compensated for by a corresponding contraction of said connection and subsequent rise of said. ladle.

6. In combination, a liquid carrying ladle suspended from a crane hook by an automatically extensible and contractable connection, said connect-ion being such that the relative distance between the surface of the liquid in said ladle and said hook remains substantially constant regardless of the amount of liquid in said ladle.

7. In combination, a crane hook and a liquid carrying ladle suspended therefrom by means of a spring controlled extensible and contractable connection, said connection being such that any change in the weight ofthe liquid in said ladle due to a change in the amount of liquid therein is accompanied by a corresponding change in the length of said connection whereby the level of said liquid in respect to said hook automatically remains substantially constant.

8. In combination with a crane hook and liquid carrying ladle suspended therefrom by a spring controlled automatically extensible and contractable connection, the rate of deflection of said spring being such that for each increment of drop in the level of the liquid in said ladle a correspondingincrement of contraction of said connection will occur.

9. The combination with a crane hook and a liquid carrying pouring ladle, of means for suspending said ladle from said hook comprising an automatically extensible and contractable spring balanced device the length of which varies in direct proportion to the weight of the liquid in the ladle and in amount corresponding with the depth of the liquid in said ladle.

10. The combination with a crane hook and a liquid carrying pouring ladle, of means for suspending said ladle from said hook comprising a spring balanced device automatically contractable as said liquid is poured from said ladle an amount sutlicient to keep the pouring lip of said ladle in the operation of pouring at a substantially constant distance from said hook.

Signed by me at South Bend, Indiana, U. S. A., this 22nd day of April, 1925.

WILLIAM G. RENGERT. 

